ROCCAT Kova [+] Gaming Mouse Review

Testing:

The ROCCAT Kova[+] was put through a week of rigorous testing. During this time it was closely examined regarding the following four traits: speed, comfort, precision, and customization.

A mouse is a key effort in any shooting game and just general working about your computer without using the keyboard for everything. However, as a mouse, there really is no apparatus or methods for systematically testing it. Subjective commenting and critiquing on speed, comfort, precision, and customization will help you decide if you are ready for the Kova[+].

Speed is a major factor in using a mouse. If you can’t get from point A to point B in a reasonable time – you might be dead in your game, or just simply frustrated with whatever you are working on. To rate speed, I used a scale of 1 to 10 with a score of one being representative of it just won’t move and a score of 10 being this mouse got ticketed for speeding.

Comfort:

If you are going to raid all night you will need a comfortable mouse, something you hand can control without really knowing you are using a mouse. A scale of 1 to 10 was used to rate the comfort level of the mouse. A value of 1 means you might just want to use the keyboard to do everything, and a value of 10 says without the mouse something is missing… almost like when you are missing your car keys in your pocket.

Precision:

Precision is a key element in making your every headshot. If the mouse is wandering or just not quite pointing where you feel it should be then your skill almost doesn’t even matter. The mouse was rated from 1 to 10, with 1 meaning just give up, and a score of 10 meaning it was meant to be.

Customization:

If your mouse doesn’t even have a scroll wheel, I cannot talk to you, however if you are one of those people sitting here with only a left click, a right click, and a scroll wheel… well then we need to talk. I’m not saying your mouse needs to be as full of buttons as the Razer Naga but having some buttons can really improve not only the way you move about menus but also the way you get around in game. Using a ranking from 1 to 10 a score of 1 goes to those of you with only one button (go Apple!) and a score of 10 goes to the mouse that can do everything!

Summary

With Bethesda’s recent release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Skyrim, I wasn’t so sure about having to switch to a new mouse. It always takes a bit of time to adjust to what you are running around with. However, after the drivers were installed and I finally got it configured to where I like it – it wasn’t so bad at all. The options to customize it to your liking are pretty open. I tend to like a little faster movement than most – which often leaves me with a little less control, but with the added DPI and sensitivity settings I’ve been taking down more headshots than normal. However, I must say the major downside to all the custom options is the “slow” factor. Every time you change a setting, not just the LED colors, but the sensitivity and speed settings – you are essentially flashing your mouse to those settings. Needless to say, the changes are not effectively immediately and if you are as picky as I am you may take a while getting your mouse set up the way you want to use it. The options for whatever speed and precision level you desire are there – you just need to spend the time to get what you want.

The Kova[+] is one of the more comfortable mice I’ve used in awhile. I’ve always been a big fan of my Razer DeathAdder just because of its size and the way it sits in my little hand. I used to love the old MX-510 from Logitech until I realized there are mice out there that don’t require my hand to sit off my desk to use them. I found the Kova[+] to fit just right in my hand. The forward and back buttons were easy to access for melee and internet browsing. The only thing that really seemed to be an issue as far as comfort goes would have to be the extra set of side buttons for the left handed user. My hand doesn’t really find use for these as they are a bit awkward to handle and are easily bumped for unnecessary clicks. Personally at this point I feel there should be a left hand and right hand version developed separately. Good economic design, poor user feel…

As far as the “shift” feature goes…I found it a bit awkward at first. To have to hold down a button and click another to get a different result was sort of nice. I liked having the extra buttons on my mouse but over time I just stopped using them. I’ve found I really only care about left, right, middle click and the two forward/backward click options. Anything beyond that for the games I play was easier to place as a key command over on the keyboard side of things.

I honestly can’t think of a time when you would really want to change your DPI settings on the fly like the options allow for – but I guess some of you out there will rant on about why you will use this feature, more power to you. But for me, I didn’t really use this setting much more than to annoy my finance with the odd voice “3200 DPI”. Those of you who eventually make this purchase (or have owned a working Kone[+]) will understand this…